Docs warn of boycotting OPD duty on Aug 18, 19

The Bihar Health Services Association has asked doctors to wear black badge to work on August 16 and 17 over its demands

The Bihar Health Services Association (BHSA) has given an ultimatum to the government to boycott outdoor patient department (OPD) duty on August 18 and 19, while asking doctors to wear black badge to work on August 16 and 17, if the state health department did not heed its seven-point charter of demands by August 12, said its president Dr Mahesh Prasad Singh, after its core committee meeting in Patna on Sunday.

Patients outside OPD counters at Patna Medical College and Hospital. The Bihar Health Services Association has given an ultimatum to the government to boycott OPD duty on August 18 and 19 if the state health department did not heed its seven-point charter of demands by August 12. (HT Archives)

BHSA comprises around 6,000 government doctors from the primary health centres (PHC) to district hospitals (DH) across the state.

“Our demands include ensuring adequate security to doctors by raising a dedicated health police force, not taking disciplinary action against 12 doctors, prematurely sent off from a training in Gaya, not to force biometric attendance on government doctors till the government stipulates their duration of work and makes arrangement for residential facilities, reservation of 30 per cent seats for in-service doctors in post graduate and DNB (diplomate national board) exams, choice or home-posting, as also same location posting of doctor couples, besides ensuring regular promotion and implementation of dynamic assured career progression (DACP),” said Dr Singh.

Insiders, however, said what triggered the emergent core committee meeting on Sunday was the Bihar Institute of Public Administration and Rural Development (BIPARD), a government institute of training and research, writing to the additional chief secretary, health, for taking action against 12 doctors, who were packed off from a recent training after they allegedly committed ruckus and misbehaved with officials at the training centre.

The six-day training of the seventh batch of government doctors between July 31 and August 5 in Gaya was mired in controversy after doctors alleged poor facilities at the centre.

“Two doctors were asked to accommodate on a single bed in a single occupancy room. When incidents of fungal infection, scabies and eye flu is high, we requested the authorities to at least provide us two separate beds in single-seater rooms. We were not even given packaged drinking water. Besides, the quality of food, hygiene and sanitation at the hostel was poor,” said Dr Rupesh Kumar, deputy superintendent of sub-divisional hospital, Madhepura, who was among the 12 doctors relieved from the training on the first day itself.

Another affected doctor, Kumar Saurabh, medical officer at a PHC in Madhepura district said, “The trainees were also made to sign a 15-20 point bond, which among others mentioned that BIPARD will not be responsible for any injury or death of the participants.”

“Dr Shahid Raza Ansari, medical officer, Kishanganj, was suffering from eye flu, but still not allotted a single room,” he added.

BHSA additional secretary Dr Hasrat Abbas and its spokesperson Dr Vinay Kumar requested the government to consider the doctors’ demands sympathetically and also urged the health department to not send any more batches of doctors for training to BIPARD till it improved the conditions.